Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,450 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Symantec were worth $8,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYMC. Strs Ohio grew its position in Symantec by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 47,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Symantec by 6.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,997 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank grew its position in Symantec by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 15,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB grew its position in Symantec by 2.3% during the third quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB now owns 92,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Symantec by 22.8% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,435 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. 91.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) opened at $27.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17,080.00, a P/E ratio of 105.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.89. Symantec Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.05. Symantec had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Symantec’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts anticipate that Symantec Corporation will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 16th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Symantec’s dividend payout ratio is 115.38%.

In related news, EVP Francis C. Rosch sold 57,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.42, for a total transaction of $1,565,764.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 325,026 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,212.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SYMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BidaskClub lowered shares of Symantec from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Symantec from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Credit Suisse Group lowered shares of Symantec from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Symantec in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Symantec from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.92.

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